Again in 2019, my theme for Ladies’s Historical past Month was “I am within the E-book.” I used that month as an example the entire several types of directories that embrace girls’s names. Directories and private phone books are sometimes a house supply you may come throughout after somebody has handed. It would seem to be the kind of ephemera that ought to be thrown away. Nevertheless, directories can present some perception into her life.
| From the gathering of Gena Philibert-Ortega |
Take, as an example, this instance of a Nationwide Roster of the Women of the Grand Military of the Republic (1933-1934). This listing is a listing of names, affiliations, and addresses of ladies who held management positions within the LGAR. It additionally consists of another nationwide teams just like the Grand Military of the Republic and the Ladies’s Aid Corps. What this listing just isn’t is an every-person member checklist.
This can be a listing that the proprietor might not be named in, so what good is it? Simply having it suggests she was a member of the LGAR. What that implies is that she had a member of the family (a blood relation) who was a Union soldier, sailor, marine, or nurse. Their web site states membership in LGAR is for:
“All feminine blood family, ten (10) years of age or over, of honorably discharged Union Troopers, Sailors and Marines of the Civil Battle, 1861 to 1865, additionally ex-army nurses of that Battle, are eligible for membership” (http://www.lgarnational.org/Membership.html)
Proudly owning this listing (and if she lived throughout these dates) suggests she (or a member of the family) was a member. I’d take that and attempt to decide what information exist for her membership in addition to look right into a soldier, sailor, marine, or ex-army nurse who was associated to her.
After we discover directories, we have to transcend what they embrace and ask questions. These questions can embrace:
- Who’s included on this listing?
- Who’s absent?
- What can I find out about this group?
- Might my ancestor have been a member?
- Do I’ve some other residence sources that embrace this group?
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